Additive to Fix Smoking Toyota Engine?

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4cyc toyotas are also legendary for value stem seal leaks in your brothers mileage range .

Does he have higher consumption of oil lately?
I'd guess valve stem seals and or rings gunked.
Check the PCV system -since added pressure will
push oil past worn valve stem seals at a higher rate and be more visible.

Other choices are autoRX, thicker oil. Even HM same grade is thicker. 15/40 delo is a bigger jump for thicker but you can do that in AZ. Delo packs do clean better but at this point AutoRX has the edge since you can see the problem.

I usually do all of the above and then a compression test if its not controlled and change the plugs along with the test.
 
If he loves the car, why is he using Castrol?
wink.gif
 
My brother has a '95 Toyota Camry, 4-cylinder, which, he purchased with just over 100,000 miles, on it. It now has over 130,000 miles, on it. He drives about 100 miles/day for work. He loves the car & uses Castrol oils in it.

The last couple of times that I've seen him, I noticed as he was leaving, there was a small, light colored puff of smoke just as he drove off. It seems to occur just on initial acceleration. Does not leave a trail of smoke down the street.

Do any of you guys know what may be causing this condition and is there an additive that may correct the problem? Would changing over to a HD Diesel-Rated Engine Oil (Chevron Delo-400, 15X40) help? Does the engine need to be cleaned or flushed out or would any combination of these things help?

We were always under the impression that these engines were legendary for living a tremendously long life. I'm hoping this is something simple that can be cleared up easily. But, I don't know how the engine was maintained the first 100,000 miles.

Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

BTW, this car lives in a desert environment(Phoenix, AZ.), if that matters.

Thank you.

Joe Fihn
 
You need to get an engine compression test done at your local mechanic (it's 1 hour labour at most).

He should also perform the "oil in the cylinder" test to determine if the it's your piston rings giving you problems or the valves not sealing well.

If it's your valves, then no oil (or additive) is going to help you.
 
m2200b,
You mention "HM same grade is thicker". What is HM?

jonny-b,
He is using Castrol GTX 10X40 or 20X50, I believe. I was always under the impression that the Castrol products were of high quality. Has that changed & what would you recommend, now?

He has not complained of higher oil consumption & I think he would have.

Thank you for all your replys.

Joe Fihn
 
HM is the high mileage grade of oil and is thicker with some seal conditioners. Your brother is using the thicker grade with the 40 and 50 already since that car's factory recommended is 30w. Castrol HM is pretty good.
Most of the complaints on Castrol really boil down to you can buy the same quality oil for $1 less a gt rather than Castrol doesn't do its job.


If it puffs whenever he accelerates after its warm I'd guess rings. Startups only could be rings or valve seals. I'd autoRX even if it isn't as effective on the valve seals but it works ok on rings.

In CA if its rings he'd probably fail smog on HC
so if he's not too far from that in AZ. See the additives forum and mechanical forum for more ideas and search with toyota or honda and smoke as your search terms as both have these problems.
I would do a compression test if he's still a smoker after autorx.

Still look over the PCV system just based on its age but I'd expect some oil consumption if this is failed.
 
I'd narrow it down to valve seals if its just startup not later when he pulls away from stops if he doesn't have oil consumption.

Why'd he go to 40 or 50w oil if he didn't have consumption?
 
m2200b,

Thanks for your great explanations.
I think he went with the 40/50 because of our excessive heat, here in Phoenix.

I've been reading about the Auto-RX & am impressed with the "unsolicited testimonials", regarding their product.

My brother does a lot of stop & go, city driving. He works for the newspaper. If you didn't get your paper, they call him & he specially delivers one to you. He averages 100 miles per day with this kind of driving.

My question is, what would you recommend that he use as an engine oil & why.

Thanks for your help. I am amazed at how much great information there is on this site. I've recommended this site, many times, on the Dodge Diesel websites that I normally follow.

Joe Fihn
 
Buy two bottles of ARX it will clean the engine gently over a course of 1500 miles. It will help to restore the natural elasicity to the seals as long as they are not damaged like a tear. Do not confuse Auto-Rx(ARX) for a cheap simple seal swelling stop leak compound. I would also switch him over to Delo 15W40! THe 4 cylinder in his Camry is not known to have any oil consuption issues or seal issues as far as I am aware! It is more then likely just a dirty engine from the previous owner!
 
John is right,Auto-Rx the engine,,clean it up ,flush with a 5w-30 ,any, for 300 miles,,,,,,then change spark plugs,prefer NGK V-Pros,,or Bosch single platnums,,,,put a good injector cleaner in ,and good oil,,10w-30 Schaeffers 7000,,,,,,,also change PCV valve along with a good Wix or whatever AIR FILTER,,,,and enjoy the improvement........BL
 
ITs the valve seals, switch to a high mileage oil and that will stop it by swelling the seals. I did this to my camry at 60,000 when it started doing this.
I am at 205,000 miles now with no smoke on startup.
 
Frank@Toronto and m2200b sound ontrack with there advice.
from my experience the stem seals or shredders typically get hard on those and leak/bleed. once removed the seals will break or crumble between your fingers leaving the shell. some say it's heat related some say its oil related. the ones i've seen have had a hard life. i dont think that you'll be able to properly repair with any additive. fel-pro has a great viton seal replacement that are much better quality or buy oe again for less than the cost of 2 auto-rx. replacement is another story and more costly if you dont do the work yourself. either head removal or you could use compressed air to hold the valves in place. consider your options and how long the vehicle is needed/wanted or what your brother wants to spend or if he even cares..
a delo or rotella would work great in that engine with any decent filter.

mudd..
 
Shove nylon rope into the spark plug hole, then turn the crank with a wrench to hold up the valves.
 
Hello. Ding an Auto-Rx threatment or two, won't hurt. This is something that really works. It cleans up your engine inside and because of that, even a mineral-oil will perform well, because engine-oil is designed to lubricate metal. Auto-Rx will also free stuck ring-packs and because of this you will get better and more even compression. The Auto-Rx will also perform well with Castrol Gtx(or any other oil, mineral or synthetic, but if you have a leak to fix, use mineral in the rinse phase). After the Auto-Rx treatment, considder to use a 3 ounce maintenance doze at every oilchange. This is a "must" if you are using mineraloil(also group 3, like Castrols synthetic oils). A true synthetic should be PAO or Esther-based, or a combination. Hydrocracked mineral-oils, that Castrol(and a few others) say is synthetic, is not, and will never be synthetic. Truely synthetic oil is built up, molecule by molecule, and does not need a lot of additives to perform well. When the additive packages in mineral-oils is worn out, the lubricating abilities are reduced and the oil performs badly. This is why you should use synthetic, at least if you are not using ARX. Sorry about the long letter, but I was bored, and didn't have anything else to do.
 
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